


Family trip

by Subtle_Shenanigans



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: All these kids are neurodivergent, Because I can, Carmen and Player have adopted one another, Comfort, Edit: I lowkey am very unhappy with this but I’m still, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, I did minor research for most of thus, Post, Shadowsan wasn’t available to come rip, Trip - Freeform, Yes I decided players name is Emile Bouchard, cajse they’re my special interest I already know quite a bit, can you tell, do not repost to another site, except about jaguars, gonna post, mentions of chronic migraines, no beta we die like Unus Annus, something not angsty? For once, spoilers for season 4 maybe, zoological gardens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29183403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subtle_Shenanigans/pseuds/Subtle_Shenanigans
Summary: Team Red likes to go on family trips.Post-series.
Relationships: Carmen & Player, Team Red - Relationship, Zack & Ivy
Comments: 23
Kudos: 68





	Family trip

**Author's Note:**

> So I vaguely mentioned this idea on tumblr and people said “gimme the fic” so I’m complying.
> 
> Also you can’t tell me Carmen doesn’t get migraine or doesn’t have damage over what they did to her. You don’t just mess with someone’s mind.

“He’s in his room,” Mister Bouchard laughed, and Carmen gave him a quick thanks.

She’d gotten to meet Player’s parents months ago - he’d introduced her as an old online friend (the story they told was that he helped her escape her abusive family - it uncomfortably held some truth. And of course his parents had been upset that neither had gone to the police, or some other authority - which Carmen countered that they were rich, powerful people, so they felt they had no choice. They’d accepted that, and with promises to come to them if any other problems arise, they’d been fine with the two being friends. In fact, they’d come to adore Carmen, and were fond of Zack and Ivy whom they eventually met too.) So trips like this weren’t uncommon. They were glad their son was at least getting out of the house.

By now she found his room with ease, and after a soft knock, opened the door. Player grunted at the light, gaze flickering to Carmen, and then back to his screens.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Red?” His lips quirked up into a smile.

Carmen leaned against the door, arms crossed. “It’s family trip day; don’t tell me you forgot.”

“Okay okay; but I need to finish this line of code. Devineaux and Julia are on the case of-“ he cut off with a squeak as Carmen slotted her arms under his and lifted him up.

“Nope! Family trip, now!”

“Red, put me down!”

“Nuh-Uh.”

“Carmen,” he whined.

“Player, you’re coming and that’s final.”

“ _Black Sheep_ -“

“ _Emile_ -“

He glared at her over his shoulder, and she raised a brow. He huffed.

“Fine, but put me down.”

She rolled her eyes and dropped him; it wasn’t a far fall, and Player knew how to catch himself.

He got his bag together, and some snacks and water bottles his parents provided, waving them off as they left.

Zack was manning the wheel, both he and Ivy out of suit. Being ACME agents came with perks like _tons_ of vacay time.   
  
And even if it didn’t, like hell they’d miss family trip time.

“Player!” “Heya kiddo!” Zack and Ivy greeted enthusiastically. He laughed, trying to slap away Ivy’s hand as she reached out the passenger side to ruffle his hair.

“Hi guys,” he ducked under and got into the back seat with Carmen. “So, where we goin’?”   
  
“Toronto Zoo; my idea,” Ivy said proudly.

Zack elbows her which starts them bickering. Player and Carmen exchange looks, trying hard not to laugh.

* * *

“You know, Zoo is actually short for Zoological Garden.” Carmen hums in response, urging him to continue. “Toronto’s zoo has quite the diversity, as well. It was originally built around 1967, and opened in 1974. Previously, the only other zoo in Toronto was the Riverdale zoo, which followed the typical 19th century pattern of keeping the animals in barred cages.”

“Gee,” Zack muttered, “glad they changed that.”

“Yeah, definitely was cruel to the animals,” Ivy agreed. “Speaking of animals, where’s the tigers?!” She looked around wildly, excitement evident.

“Probably in the . . .” Player squinted at the map; he was official path finder. “Eurasia section. Yeah! Looks like they have an Amur Tiger.”

“Exciting,” Carmen said from over his shoulder.

“So if we start there. . .” Zack had come up behind them, leaning in on Carmen’s right.

“. . .then we can loop around,” Ivy finished, on her other side. They were practically leaning on Player to get a look at the map.

“Okay, so Eurasia first!” Player closed up the map, stepping forward. Carmen had to hop to regain her balance, and both Zack and Ivy had to windmill to keep theirs.

* * *

Eurasia was fun to visit; it brought up past trips and what wildlife they managed to see there.   
  
And the Amur Tiger was absolutely stunning. It prowled, gazing around with a cool gaze.

(Honestly, even if it’s enclosure was pretty good, it was sad to see an animal locked up. Unfortunately, animals that have been bred in captivity were hard to reintroduce to the wild - it could even be fatal. So they all knew it was for the best. And hopefully the animals they had here could teach them how to help those in the wild.

They seemed well taken care of at the least.)

Carmen quite enjoyed the Snow Leopard, and Player commented that the Red pandas made him think of her. There were also domestic yaks, which were interesting to see.

“Both males and females have horns,” Player read off the plaque, “they are an important breed to nomadic tribes. Wild yaks will kill domestic ones. Huh.”

“Aw man, aren’t they, like, sibling species though?” Zack looked at Ivy.   
  
She swiped for his hair, “yeah but they’re animals, doofus. They think different than we do.”

It went on like that as they entered the Tundra Trek; while it was amazing to see the Polar bears and reindeer and wolves, they didn’t spend too long lingering. Thankfully there weren’t too many animals to see.

(Carmen wouldn’t be the first to admit her hesitance to cold places since hypothermia. But whether consciously or not, Zack, Ivy, and Player ushered them along through that area.)

Americas was next, but on the trail they saw some sort of ice cream vendor.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

“Ooh, you see that Carm! Ice cream!”

“Can we get some? Please? _They have dippin’ dots, Carm!_ ”

Clamoring for attention like starving birds, Carmen chuckled. “Go on guys, we’ll wait here.”

“ _Yahoo!_ ”

“ _Hell yeah!_ ”

Once the two siblings ran off, Carmen leaned back against one of the rails, fingers pressing into her forehead.

Player leaned back, hands on the rail behind him. “Migraine?”

Carmen didn’t open her eyes. “Not yet. Headache for sure.”

Player pulled the backpack off of his shoulder. “I should have some painkillers. Excedrin, right?”

She drooped as the tension left her body. “Yes please.”

They slid down and sat on the ground, Player passing the medication and a water bottle. He fished out two granola bars after. “Gotta eat so you don’t get a stomachache.”

“Thanks.”

It was quiet for a bit. Carmen kept her eyes closed while she rested for a minute, and Player watched Zack bouncing around in the line, Ivy trying to reign him in.

“. . .any change, lately?”

Carmen huffed. “Yes, no. Who knows?” She shrugged. “Sometimes they’re horrible and debilitating, sometimes they’re barely anything. It’s spotty at best.”

Player leaned in to her. “Well, just keep an eye on them, kay?”

Carmen smiled, opening one eye to look at him. “Okay, okay.”

They enjoyed the rest of the time with quiet jokes and reminiscing, until Zack and Ivy hurried towards them, squabbling joyfully.

It was nice they also got something for Carmen and Player.

* * *

The Americas exhibit was also a blast; there were quite a few smaller species to look at.

Ivy seemed quite taken with the axolotl - " _Wait so is it a fish or a lizard???_ " While Zack couldn't help but coo over the black-footed ferret - _"Who's a vicious little predator? You are!"_

There were quite a few other aquatic life - like the blind cave characin - as well as bugs which were, well, bigger than expected (Player laughed when Zack squealed upon seeing the Brazilian giant cockroach, and only Carmen was unsurprised by the giant bird-eating tarantula.)

This was probably the exhibit they spent the longest in, if only because of the sheer number of species there.

But the best moment was the 'Mayan Temple Ruins' section.

There were only four animals there; and while the blue-and-yellow macaw was beautiful, and the American flamingo fun to watch, it was the black-handed spider monkey that drew their attention.

And the neighbor exhibit: the jaguar.

Zack whistled. "Get a load of this guy."

The Jaguar was prowling around its cage, back and forth, dappled gold and tawny with the sunlight filtering through. It was giving a rough, coughing sound low in its throat - it’s call.

“ ‘E’s not sick, is ‘e?” Ivy asked worriedly.

“No, that’s just the sound a Jaguar makes - they don’t roar like the other big cats.” Player supplied helpfully.

“Even though they’re the third largest cat in the world, and the largest in the Americas,” Carmen added.

Zack and Ivy looked at one another and rolled their eyes fondly.

“They also have the most lethal bite; they’ve been known to kill some of their prey by putting their fang in the ear canal and cracking the skull,” Player added, hopping a little now.

“Oh yeah? So what do these guys hunt that they need to crack skulls.”

“Well, they’re opportunist hunters - they eat over 87 different species of animals, including caiman, tapir, and river turtles.” Carmen nodded, satisfied with remembering. “They’re very adaptable.”

Zack slung an arm around her shoulder. “Kinda like someone we know?”

She laughed but leaned into the gesture. “I don’t think I’m on par with the Jaguar, exactly.”

“Hey look, he’s swimming in a pool!”

They looked at Ivy’s exclamation; the Jaguar was indeed paddling in a pool in its enclosure.

When it finished it shook itself off. They moved on to the other exhibits not too long after.

* * *

“Behold, the beauty of my homeland; Now for the Canadian Domain!”

“Player, people are staring.”

People were indeed looking over at the young teen, with his arms flung wide.

“This is one of the smaller ones, right?” Ivy whisper-shouted to her brother. Player gave her his most indignant look, which - well, it was him glaring and frowning with both fists clenched at his sides. It wasn’t very intimidating.

“Just you wait and see, Ivy! Canada is home to cool animals too.”

“I’ll say it is!” Zack pointed forwards, before breaking out into a run “Look! Moose!” Ivy was at his heals.

Carmen snorted. “Okay, c’mon Player; tell me about the native wildlife.”

He grumbled a bit but perked up; he couldn’t really stay mad at Red.

“Well, the moose is good to start with. They’re part of the deer family,” he explained as they came up to the exhibit; the moose were huge, towering over everyone. “They can swim and even dive to look for vegetation.”

“ _These guys dive???_ ”

“Yep!” Player said cheerfully. “It’s terrifying if they pop up out of a body of water suddenly.”

They moved on, seeing the other exhibits: the trumpeter swam, Canadian lynx, cougar (which had other names like puma, mountain Lion, and catamount), there was even a grizzly bear.

But one that stuck with Carmen was the raccoon; something about its earnest little face caught her attention.

“Raccoon, huh?” Player came to stand next to Carmen.   
  
“It has little people hands, Player.” Her voice was soft, awed with it. “Look at its little face. Makes me think of you.”

“Yeah?”

“C’mon guys!” Ivy yelled for them. “It’s time for a snack break! Quick before Zack eats all the energy bites!”

* * *

After a good, long break, they were back on their feet and ready to move on to the next exhibit.

It was African Savanah, easily the largest of the exhibits.

It was a bit of a blur as they made their way through it - it had already been a long day after all. But there were a few highlights they would remember.

“Naked mole rat,” Zack read aloud, squinting at the sign. Looking into the enclosure and catching sight of the little animal, he couldn’t help but coo. “Aww, this little guy is rad! I’m gonna call him Rufus!”

The black crake startled them when it called loudly, but they did admire its plumage.

There was a hippopotamus - (“it’s name means river horse,” Player supplied. “Have you seen those if-hippos-were-extinct-how-would-they-be-portrayed posts?” This from Ivy.) - hyena, gorilla, a bird called a turaco, straw-colored fruit bat, Cheetah (“The only one of the running cat family left,” from Carmen.), lemur, Lion, and even a species of penguin.

By time they had made it through the African Savanah exhibit, they were exhausted.

But it was lots of fun as well.

“Okay,” Carmen said, borrowing the map from Player while he gulped down water, “so all that’s left is the Indo-Malaya exhibit; it doesn’t seem to big. You up for it after we wrap this up?”

Pulling the water bottle from her mouth, Ivy shrugged. “I’m down if you are, Carm. It’s been loads of fun. I can just crash when we git to the hotel later.”

Zack, who was laying on the floor, raised a hand. “Same.”

“Player.”

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Yeah I’ll be good. I really want to see the fairy bluebird.”

“Okay then,” she folded up the map and handed it back to Player. “Let me know when you guys are ready to go.”

With a bit of a groan on Zack and Ivy’s end, they got up and made sure all their stuff was packed up, and trash put in the bin, and went ahead to the last exhibit.

They did stop by the other exhibits - like star tortoise, the Sumatran tiger, and the various carps - but mostly made a beeline for the fairy bluebird. It was a simple thing, blue as it’s name implied, with striking red eyes. It was fairly quiet, making soft tittering noises. It was a stark contrast compared to the raucous calls coming from the other exhibits.

“So,” Carmen sidled up next to Player, her shoulder intentionally brushing against his, “fairy bluebird.”

Player shrugged. “Just saw the name and it caught my attention.”

Carmen watched the birds picking at figs in the trees. One swooped low and almost knocked a neighboring bird off of a branch. “Well, they certainly are pretty.”

“Mmhmm.”

They ended up sitting on a bench and just watching the birds flitter back and forth. Ivy and Zack sat on either side. It felt right.

It was comfortable, and probably one of the things they’d remember most about this trip.

Being together and watching the birds. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: my brain fried as soon as I started writing and I regretted writing ever.
> 
> So the process is —> Idea I am really excited about —> writing —> regret ever writing —> push through —> anxiety is triggered for no reason —> publish —> hopefully a sense of accomplishment.
> 
> We’ll get there.
> 
> EDIT: Something came up and my depression hit me; haven't had a depressive bout this bad in awhile. Apologies if this is sloppy.


End file.
